Bitcoin nears $12,000 / Litecoin halves rewards / Crypto "sextortion" scams

Inside Bitcoin presented by Lemonade .

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser Hi everyone and happy Monday, It's the beginning of the month, so that means one thing: it's Jargon Watch time! The next Jargon Watch is on Wednesday 7th August. If there's any term within the crypto space that you've heard of, but aren't too sure what it means, send me an email and I'll add it to the next Jargon Watch post to help clear up any confusion.       Market Watch: Bitcoin is once again showing that it can keep people on their toes after jumping in value by nearly nine percent in a 24-hour period. Litecoin is also pushing the boat out and is back within the $100 mark following its reward halvening. Bitcoin: $11,893 (⬆️ 8.78%) // $212.4 billion market cap. Ethereum: $235 (⬆️ 6.44%) // $25.4 billion market cap. XRP: $0.327 (⬆️ 2.12%) // $14 billion market cap. Litecoin: $100 (⬆️ 7.00%) // $6.3 billion market cap. Top 100 Winner: ABBC Coin: $0.264 (⬆️ 95.83%) // $146 million market cap. Top 100 Loser: NEXT: $1.31 (⬇️ 9.27%) // $66 million market cap. Prices are as of 13:25 p.m. EDT.       1. Bitcoin is within touching distance of $12,000 amid trade war tensions. At the time of publishing, the number one crypto asset has seen a near 10 percent rise in 24 hours, rising to $11,744. The increase comes after the Chinese yuan dropped seven per dollar as well as escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Further tensions come after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed adding 10 percent tariffs on an additional $300 billion in Chinese imports from the beginning of September. –BLOOMBERG       2. Litecoin has halved its mining rewards as it hits the $100 mark. According to mining pool operator BTC.com, the fourth-largest crypto asset saw rewards drop from 25 Litecoin to 12.5 Litecoin. Similar to how Bitcoin works, the halvening event takes place every 840,000 blocks or roughly around every four years. Since the beginning of the year, Litecoin has risen from $30 to a high of around $140 in June. –COIN DESK       A MESSAGE FROM LEMONADE Lemonade is redefining insurance for urban dwellers, taking a flat fee and giving unclaimed funds to charity. Lemonade is an insurance company that breaks the mold and redefines the home and renters insurance model, using technology for total transparency. Policies start as low as $5. 3. A new report has found that "sextortion" scams earned criminals $1.2 million in Bitcoin over the past 12 months. The report, by cybersecurity company Symantec, discovered that scammers threatened to send victims photos or videos of themselves allegedly looking at pornography websites through hacked web cameras. However, the only way to get around this was to send the scammer the requested amount in Bitcoin (usually around $708) to ensure that the so-called footage wasn't shared with friends and family. –COINTELEGRAPH       4. Iran has cleared up its position on crypto mining, and now says that it's a legitimate industry; however, a bill ratified by the Iranian Cabinet over the weekend says that it doesn't recognize crypto trading as lawful. Cryptocurrencies also won't be considered legal tender by the Central Bank of Iran, while mining will only be permitted inside of Iran after certain conditions have been met, one of which is that mining is done within a 30-mile radius of all local centers. –AL JAZEERA       A MESSAGE FROM AUDIBLE We invite you to try Audible FREE. Find your perfect listen by continuing below ⬇️ Listening makes us smarter, more connected people. It makes us better partners, parents, and leaders. And there's no better place to start listening than Audible. Sign up at audible.com/insidenews for your 30-day Audible free trial and get your first audiobook plus two audible originals for free.   5. Crypto bull Mike Novogratz has said that the Bitcoin rally "could have real legs" amid instability in Hong Kong and trade tensions between the U.S. and China. In a tweet posted today, Novogratz didn't say how far Bitcoin could go, but he has previously indicated that the currency has the potential to rise to $20,000 again by the end of 2019. –COINTELEGRAPH       6. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) is expected to ramp up its efforts toward the development of its cryptocurrency in the coming months. Other things China's central bank is keen to work on include improving its fintech services to meet new challenges. The PBoC's renewed interest in developing its own cryptocurrency follows the announcement of Facebook's proposed Libra coin. –TOKEN POST       7. Peter Schiff, an American stock broker and Bitcoin critic, has argued that recent events relating to China's economy doesn't mean fresh interest is being turned to Bitcoin. In a tweet, he added that CNBC was "devoting" more airtime to Bitcoin than gold and was tricking its audience into purchasing the asset. –COINTELEGRAPH       8. Cisco, IBM, Nokia, and Vodafone are a few of the companies that have teamed up to create a blockchain network aimed at improving supply chain management. The network, Trust Your Supplier, hopes to reduce time-consuming processes as well as help to cut errors and fraud in supply chains. –REUTERS       9. Volvo Cars have used the blockchain to map the use of recycled cobalt in a set of cars. It is also using the technology to monitor the use of the mineral from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The move comes at a time when vehicle makers are facing pressure from customers to ensure they aren't using conflict materials or relying on child labor. –THE BUSINESS TIMES       10. Acting Secretary-General of the Thai Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), Pol Maj Gen Preecha Charoensahayanon, has said that the Thai government will amend existing anti-money laundering (AML) laws to regulate cryptocurrencies. The aim is to prevent the assets from being used for illegal purposes in the future. –THE BANGKOK POST       This newsletter was written and curated by Rebecca Campbell. She has been writing and reporting on various industries for the past 10 years, more specifically tech in the last three. Connect with her on Twitter. Editor: David Stegon (senior editor at Inside, whose reporting experience includes cryptocurrency and technology).       Ad Start listening with a 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook plus two Audible Originals are free. Visit audible.com/insidenews

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